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Would bigger, badder people come for us if we wiped them out?

It didn’t mean we wouldn’t do it. It meant we’d have to bring in more help.

Damn, we never seemed to stay out of situations requiring us to get rid of the vermin and filth in the world for long.

If it wasn’t our club personally experiencing it, then one of our friends was.

We let her rage until she ran out of energy.

When she did, Tavia was hunched forward.

She would’ve fallen face-first out of the chair if she hadn’t been bound to it.

She was breathing hard and muttering under her breath.

Getting closer, I made out the words. She was saying over and over.

“He loves me, not her. He loves me, not her.”

“Pres, I need you guys over here,” Wire said urgently.

Moving across the room to where he was, which put more than enough distance between us and Tavia, we waited to see why Wire sounded excited.

“Her name is Octavia Machado. Tavia is her nickname. Her family is from Colima, Mexico. It’s in Central Mexico on the Pacific Ocean side.

I need more time to get the specifics, but her family is a small yet growing crime family.

They’re not big players in the drug trade like many down there.

They’re not large enough to call them a cartel.

They’re all about supplying whorehouses with new women and getting babies for those in countries around the world.

They mainly seem to target American women for both.

I can’t give exact numbers on how many her uncle and cousin have backing them.

Goddamn it, why didn’t I stay and dig?” he said angrily.

“Wire, none of us expect you to work twenty-four seven and have no time for anything in your life but this. You’re here now. See what you find. They kept their contact and communications heavily guarded or disguised from you. Shake it off, and do what you do best,” Agony told him sternly.

“Yes, Pres, I will.”

“Agony, do we need to push her? Possibly get physical with her to see if we can get her to tell us more? Or do we wait and see what Wire finds?” Hulk asked.

“Fuck. I’m unsure if she’ll give us names and the size of their force, but we need to know.

And where is Deon hiding? Are there others with him?

If we can identify and eliminate the individuals responsible and then pursue the rest, it might be the best approach.

Leon, will you and Hulk stay and see what you can get from her? ” Agony asked.

“I’ll do whatever I can,” was Leon’s answer.

“Bones, I know part of you wants to do it, but let these two take this one. You make sure Blythe is okay and resting. And when we get our hands on Deon and the rest, you can have all the time you want with him,” Agony said.

He said it like he was giving me a choice, but I knew he was gently ordering me. I didn’t mind in this instance, so I went along with it. Tavia wasn’t the main one I wanted to take my anger out on. It was Deon.

“I wouldn’t mind that at all, Agony.”

“Good. If any of you want to stay, go ahead, but I’m going to see my family. Wire, you’ll be at your house or the clubhouse working?”

“Clubhouse.”

And just like that, the party broke up. Pope remained with Leon and Hulk.

As we returned to our houses or the clubhouse, we talked softly about what we had learned and what it could mean for the club.

I prayed it wouldn’t become a massive cleanup that took months.

We’d done that in several cases. I was tired of those.

???

It was ten the next morning. I’d spent the night making sure Blythe and the babies were good.

She refused to sleep until I told her what else we found before we left Tavia with the three guys.

And only after we made love. I was more than willing to do that.

Now, we’d gathered in the clubhouse. Everyone had chosen to take the day off and stay here if needed.

We wanted the old ladies to remain where we knew they were safe.

The older kids hadn’t gone back to school yet.

That was next week, so that worked out. Plus, we had staff at the various businesses who were more than capable of overseeing the work.

And there was a little rearranging of schedules for those where we were key employees, such as Dare and Mace at the garage and Agony’s tattoo shop.

However, most regulars knew that sometimes the club took precedence over other commitments.

They either accepted it or they didn’t. Most were more than willing to do it.

When it came to ink or auto repairs, we were the best in the area.

Alfred ended up staying the night in an empty room. When we entered the common room, he was up and looking well-rested. He was drinking hot tea or coffee and talking to Tana. Agony’s enisi , grandma, was smiling and chattering back. I whispered in Blythe’s ear.

“Uh oh, Alfred better watch himself. He gets too friendly with Tana, and Agony will go all native on Alfred and make him disappear.”

She poked her elbow into my ribs. “Stop, they’re just talking. And Tana could do much worse than Alfred. They’re both sweet, wonderful people.”

“I’m just teasing, but no one has ever captured her eye since she lost her husband when Agony’s dad was fifteen. He died in a logging accident. She’s never had a boyfriend that I know of in all those years. When Agony’s parents died when he was five, she raised him alone.”

“What happened to his parents?”

“Their car slid into an iced-over pond, and they couldn’t escape. They drowned. Agony was staying with Tana when it happened, or she would’ve lost him, too.”

“That’s so terrible. She deserves all the fun she can have. But she’s lucky, too, that she has everyone here,” Blythe added.

“She says we’re all her grandchildren, and she’s not lonely because she has all of us. It’ll kill us when we lose her. She’s eighty-four.”

“I feel the same way about Alfred. He’s seventy-five. He has kids and grandkids, but they don’t come around much, and none of them have his love of antiques.”

“Well, that does it. We’ll have to adopt him into the club family, and he’ll have more family than he’ll know what to do with, and surely someone besides you will love those antiques.”

She chuckled and kissed me quickly before dragging me over to say good morning to Alfred and Tana. “Good morning. You look rested and happy,” she said to them.

“You as well, dear. I hope you got some sleep last night,” Alfred answered first.

“Good morning, you two. I slept well. If you’re hungry, there’s coffee, tea, juice, and other things in the kitchen. Alfred has been regaling me with stories of some of your funnier customers. I need to come check out the store. It sounds fascinating,” Tana said.

There was a sparkle in her eyes, and her cheeks were flushed. Was Alfred more than just someone closer to her age to talk to? If so, how would Agony and the rest of the club take it? We wanted Tana to be happy, but we were extremely protective of her. Wait, no, I wouldn’t even think it.

Excusing ourselves, we went to see what they had to eat.

It wasn’t a complete breakfast, but there was granola, yogurt, fruit, a few different pastries, muffins, and hot oatmeal with toppings.

I put some of it all on plates and bowls for us, though Blythe tried to stop me.

She needed the calories and energy. With those and our drinks, we returned to find seats in the common room.

Others were eating or mingling. We sat down with Alfred and Tana.

We were eating and chatting when Leon joined us.

I wanted to immediately ask what they discovered from questioning Tavia, but I held back.

I didn’t want to do it in front of Alfred, Tana, or Blythe.

When I didn’t ask, I saw my woman glance from me to the older couple and nod once.

She got it. More greetings for a good morning happened, and then we talked about ordinary things.

The topic of choice for me was working on the nursery and being able to paint after the new doorway was made.

I’d hoped to finish it by the end of next week, but this mess might postpone it.

By the time we finished eating, Agony and his family had entered the clubhouse. He whistled to get our attention. Once he had it, he greeted everyone with a good morning and asked all members and Leon to join him in church. Rising to my feet, I gave Blythe a short kiss.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Stay and relax. Talk to the women or go home and rest if you want.”

“I’ll stay here. Go. I’m good,” Blythe assured me.

Leon and I joined the queue headed to church. It didn’t take long for us to be seated, and the room was quiet. All eyes were on our president. Agony appeared resolved to whatever we were about to discover. I had to keep from drumming my fingers on the table.

“I know you’re all anxious to hear what Hulk, Leon, and Pope got from our reluctant informant. And what Wire has been able to dig up since last night?” Wire was there with his trusty laptop. He appeared worn out.

“Gentlemen, tell them,” Agony told them.

Hulk spoke first. It made sense for him to speak. As our enforcer and an officer, he would’ve been in command of the session. I wondered how bloody and painful they had to get. I didn’t like hurting women, but in a case like this, Tavia was an enemy.

“It seems that Blythe broke something in Tavia. What I mean is, she took minimal persuasion to talk. Tavia had suspected Deon wasn’t feeling the same about Blythe as he did about his prior victims. He acted differently, but when questioned, he denied it.

Tavia suspected he might have feelings for Blythe, but he continued to deny it.